• Renewable energy

Building stronger bonds with East Anglia One

After more than three years working closely with ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) at the East Anglia ONE (EA1) offshore wind farm, James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS) has been awarded the £5.6 multi-million-pound offshore maintenance contract for the site.

This win is a strong validation of the close working relationship the JFMS team has created and nurtured in the region, and with the EA1 team.

The three-year contract covers both onshore and offshore servicing and includes all on-going maintenance to the windfarm, including statutory inspections, equipment maintenance and structural integrity checks for components.

 ‘This is the power of a properly integrated relationship during a wind farm’s construction phase, one which we’re delighted to extend with SPR and the EA1 team as we work together to drive down the cost of operations and maintenance,’ says managing director, Barry Jennings.

Operation and maintenance plays a key role in the management of an offshore wind farm and constitutes a significant proportion of costs incurred over the assets life cycle. But the JFMS team is working to constantly innovate products, services and methods to minimise turbine downtime and reduce maintenance costs.

‘This contract win shows the trust placed in JFMS by SPR, and the confidence that the team is capable of maximising the wind farm’s output, extending its operational life span, and playing its part in driving down the cost of renewable energy,’ adds Barry.

EA1 is located 43km off the East coast and work on the new maintenance contract will be managed and run out of the JFMS base at Lowestoft which was set up in 2016 at the heart of the local supply chain to bring together the group’s marine, offshore and subsea specialist capabilities to support the construction of the Galloper windfarm there.

As a single-source supplier JFMS will continue to provide an integrated service.

‘It feels like we’ve been on this journey together, hand in hand. We’ve overcome the challenges, worked through any snagging issues and taken our learnings as a team, which makes us the best possible partner for ongoing maintenance work on the wind farm,’

says Heather Leadbetter, project engineer at JFMS, who manages this integrated marine package spending two days a week at EA1 HQ as an embedded extension of the EA1 team.

Importantly, the Lowestoft base has allowed the JFMS team to become embedded in the local supply chain community too. This allows for the integration of smaller local contractors (such as RMi Engineering and Fern Communications), which helps to boost employment in areas closest to the wind farms. Barry adds: 

‘As a company rooted in Lowestoft, we are really proud to be part of a local supply chain that celebrated a collective achievement when the wind farm first generated power last year, and made huge strides towards helping to produce the clean energy the UK needs, continuing to provide opportunities to the people and businesses of East Anglia.’

Charlie Jordan, project director at SPR adds:

‘We’re delighted to have such a strong supply chain in East Anglia and we’re really pleased to be furthering our working relationship with the James Fisher team.’

He continues: ‘The Integrated Marine Package covers a wide range of services which have enabled EA1 to successfully manage the offshore site in accordance with project requirements. Overall, these services have been delivered successfully and we continue to work with JFMS to further tailor the services to our needs.’